Infantry "I" Button recovered at Antietam

$60.00$45.00

(You save $15.00)

Product Description

This is another nice item being offered, it is a Union Infantry "I" coat button (the "I" standing for Infantry). It is complete and still has the stand up shank remaining on the back. It appears that there is also a backmark, but I cannot make it out. This button was recovered many years ago on the Antietam Battlefield.

The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South, was fought on September 17, 1862. This was the first major battle in the Civil War to take place on Union soil. It is the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined tally of dead, wounded, and missing at 22,717.

Despite having superiority of numbers, McClellan's attacks failed to achieve force concentration, allowing General Lee to counter by shifting forces and moving interior lines to meet each challenge. Despite ample reserve forces that could have been deployed to exploit localized successes, McClellan failed to destroy Lee's army. McClellan had halted Lee's invasion of Maryland, but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield, making it, in military terms, a Union victory.

The button is very nice and in solid condition - all the details on the face are legible. A great historic piece from the bloodiest day in America's history.